On 5th June 2014, Pope Francis warned Europeans: ’Without integration, Gypsies become victims of new forms of slavery.’

From the Vatican, the Holy Father sees clearly the shameful picture: old and young, whether in Northern Hungary or Eastern Slovakia, rake the gutters of their remote villages the whole year round for just 200 Euros a month, doing so-called ’Community Work’, a government scheme administered by village authorities. In exchange for this paltry amount, they are excluded from normal education or jobs. They may well live their whole lives in the same degraded position, mentally reined in for the sake of a sum that does not afford them a living wage. Community work turns people into subjects who are dependent. Quality does not matter: the future belongs only to those who submit. A new caste system is being constructed on the Eastern fringes of the European Union.

Knowledge that enables you to compete in a free labour market for fair wages is a privilege you must be born to if you are to get it in Eastern Europe. Someone who was born the child of uneducated, especially Gypsy parents, will probably live in segregated neighbourhoods and will be guided into separate institutional structures. American and African visitors are taken aback to see the racial segregation of their own past. Indian guests are reminded of what the caste system was like 100 years ago.

5-10 % of the population of Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Roumania, and Bulgaria is Roma. These people can be distinguished by their skin colour. However you will very rarely meet darker skinned Roma students at the universities of Budapest, Bucharest, or Bratislava. The students of colour in higher education anywhere from Prague to Sofia are almost all foreigners.

In Eastern Europe, ethnic and social selection of children happens early, at the age of six. In Hungary for example most of the children belonging to higher ’castes’ gain admission to white Catholic or Protestant church or private schools, and their parents pay for extra coaching for them. After 12 years, they are assured of passing high school leaving exams, or A levels, and many will go on to university.

Those who do not gain admittance to such privileged or less elite but still white establishments, will attend segregated schools to which only Gypsies go and they can forget about ever learning multiplication tables and will never be able to understand an article from a newspaper. And there will be no way out. A good proportion of segregated children will stay at elementary school until the end of their compulsory school attendence at 16. They will never get any secondary education.

At the age of 14, when successful students can go on to secondary education, if a Roma child should still try to enter high school, he or she will meet closed doors. For example, talented but disadvantaged students are effectively guided away from secondary schools by Hungarian educational policy using financial incentives. The State promises 100 Euros a month scholarship to any youngster who chooses the dead end of vocational school, where he or she will not learn any foreign language and only a very little mathematics, science, or art. This option decides the question of further education for families living in deep poverty: nobody goes to grammar or high school because no such scholarship is offered for normal secondary education. This merely budgetary means in effect cleanses secondary education of Gypsies. The population expresses its gratitude for ethnically pure secondary schools and abundant scholarships for vocational students by voting for casteist political parties at elections.

When disadvantaged students reach the age of 16, the policy flushes them from formal education by putting them into the unemployment system. The Labour Office offers youngsters the same amount that their parents get for their Community Service, and imposes on them only one condition: ’Leave your school’. No youngster in poverty can resist the offer of 200 Euros. In recent years, Hungary has stripped 15 % of 17 year olds from the secondary school system. To put the accusation bluntly: the State Budget spends more and more money effectively to stop the secondary school studies of poor kids – which mainly means Gypsies.

This is not the worst that happens. A proportion of early school leavers fall in with criminal gangs, human trafficking to the West for begging and prostitution.

If somebody revolts against this mental reining in and still chooses grammar/high school studies, he or she can expect but 40 Euros per month „study support” from the Hungarian Government. And for this, if he or she has a darker skin, they must face constant racial prejudice at school. And so we move farther and farther from our famous European ideals.

With the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire, well intentioned people liberated slaves more and more often. That was called ’Manumissio inter amicos” – sending forth by hand before friends (as witnesses). Christianity at that time followed the path indicated in the Gospels.

We cannot accept that today the social role of religion is to run segregated elite white schools. We need friends again who will liberate our fellow citizens from the slavery of community work and worse.

Please take your part in our movement. We want to offer students the 200 Euros a month they’d get as unemployed if they left school. Give 40 Euros a month to a student. Four friends each giving in this way together make up the missing 160 euros for a student studying for A level. Altogether these are five friends. Minus a slave. Plus an educated European citizen who can contribute economically and socially.

Dr. Ambedkar High School in Hungary would like to motivate and inspire underprivileged Roma students by sending them to English language summer camp.

Dr. Ambedkar High School was founded in 2007 with the aim of providing quality education and opportunities to Roma community, opportunities which have been denied to them because of racial discrimination and segregated educational system.

Since coming to existence, Dr. Ambedkar High School has successfully helped many Roma students finish their high school studies and send some of them for higher education studies at various universities. Till now, despite shortage of funds and opposition from various politicians, the school has been progressing thanks to the support from donors.

English language is very important for the students as it opens various doors for them and makes them suitable for the job market. So, we would love to send 6 of our students for the summer camp organised by FEK Foundation, Hungary so that it helps in integration as well as providing new learning experience for the students.

To send one student to a one week summer camp would cost around 150 Euro (around 46,000 HUF), which includes travelling, accommodation and food. For 6 students we would need around 1000 Euro (around 300, 000 HUF). If we could manage to raise more money, we will send more students for the English learning.

Today it is the 6th of December. On this day two saints died in Asia: Bishop Nicholas (in Hungary and the Czech Republic he is also called Santa Claus) about 1673 years ago and a Buddhist saint, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar 60 years ago.

ME-number

201035 (You will need this identifying number if you would like to look up our High School on different pages of the Ministry of Education.)

Our School 1st Part

Our School (1st Part)

Our school is named after Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (April 14, 1891-December 6, 1956) an Indian jurist, scholar and political leader. Born into a poor, dalit (untouchable) family and subjected to intense socio-economic discrimination, Ambedkar spent his life fighting against the Indian caste system and the idea of untouchability. We see his message being relevant for gypsies in our country today.

Our School 2nd Part

Our School (2nd Part)

Our school is serving in a region of northern Hungary where the proportion of high school graduates having matriculation examination is under 1%. At the gypsy settlements of Sajokaza, Lak, Alsovadasz, Homrogd there are thousands of people without the chance of secondary education. We believe, that the application of proper pedagogy will result in the elevation of above mentioned ratio similar to any other group of today's society, and our students so become competitive participants of the labour market.

Our School 3rd Part

Our School (3rd Part)

Our school offers person centered pedagogy, informatics, English language and sciences. By activating dormant energies of unused manpower we bring high grade secondary education to the poorest communities of our homeland.

Our School 4th Part

Our School (4th Part)

The objective of our school is to show the way out of poverty and make environmental stimuli enjoyable for everybody. We knowingly have encouraged our children to make friends with students of other schools years before founding the school. Our task is to transmit the essence of better life standards of more prosperous social strata to our students and their families. It is especially important in health issues, for we do not study to die early as the poor of the villages.

Our School 5th Part

Our School (5th Part)

Even though the school is situated in segregated environment, our efforts are to integrate. The goal is to bring high standard education to a totally unprovided area. The want should be satisfied. The effects of this service then attract non-Romany inhabitants, and lead to building valuable relationships around the segregated community. We believe in the possibility of dark spots on the map today to become bright stars tomorrow.

Our School 6th Part

Our School (6th Part)

We emphasize the values of Romany lifestyle. Even though the life is changing in Alsovadasz, Sajokaza, Lak, Homrogd and the other villages, people are going to have large families with lots of cousins, uncles and aunts for a few more decades. However nice and precious it is, the public opinion of the rest of the county might be different. One of the pedagogic tasks of the school is to provide students with well based confidence to commit to their own chosen lifestyle.

Our School 7th Part

Our School (7th Part)

The aim that our students want to achieve is high school graduation. Trade is offered only to those who want it along with graduation. Even for people fell out of primary education but wanting to learn we make understand that the goal is not just completing primary school but to change their social stand.